“There are very few places where fine artists congregate and actually discuss and critique art and support each other with their knowledge, observations and encouragement.”
“This is the only art community I feel comfortable being in. It is the feeling of close ‘family and friends’ connection with Prof Lieu and other learners.”
Chat with pro artists
So many artists feel isolated in their practice, where it’s easy to get stuck and lose your motivation.
Most artists don’t know professional artists they can speak with, and don’t have any artist friends on a regular basis.
You’ll get to know our staff really well! We all work in different fields and have a wide range of expertise.
Chat with us on voice (no video) during Voice Chats and Open Studios in a warm, supportive environment.
When you’re learning art on their own, you don’t get the encouragement you need to keep going! We’ll give you a friendly nudge to continue.
“The real-time feedback and sense of community made this the closest I have come since the pandemic started. I feel like I am in a class led by master surrounded by dedicated students.“
Connect with artists around the world
Many art communities online are largely about self-promotion and are a dumping ground for people to show their work without any mutual exchange.
Art Club is a small group where it’s easy to connect with others.
Learning is so much more fun in a group. You’ll learn as much from other members as you will from us!
You’ll meet people from all over the world! This makes for rich, dynamic conversations on voice and text.
Art Club artists support each other and are invested in each other’s progress. Many of us have met up in person in places around the globe after speaking on voice for years.
“I’m making more personal connections with people than in the public Discord channels, plus more access to Prof Lieu.
Get accurate answers quickly
Today, we have an immense amount of information at our fingertips. However, it’s common to hours sifting through tons of content, and still not get the answer we are looking for.
For example, there is so much misinformation about art supplies. This can result in wasted money when the wrong supplies are purchased.
We tell people to ask us first before going to the art store!
Save time!
When you ask questions in Art Club, you are guaranteed accurate, up to date information from us.
Questions don’t have just 1 answer! Asking a question inevitably leads to you having many more.
You’ll benefit from hearing a range of opinions, so that you have options to consider.
Art Club ensures that you can follow up and ask on a regular basis instead of a one time reply.
Since we develop close relationships in Art Club, the answers we provide are customized to your needs.
The answer we give is different depending on the artist, and the type of work they make.
That’s very different than hearing generic advice in a video. You won’t get help that is specific to your artistic process.
“Prof Lieu has a magical ability to help me see connections in my current work/interests to my early art experiences.”
Discord
If Discord is totally new to you, don’t worry! We will hold your hand through every step of the way, so you’ll plenty of support to get going.
We have friendly moderators and staff to assist you and answer your questions. Many members are happy to help too. We provide plenty of tech support, just ask us!
Art Club has private channels in our Discord, where everything happens.
Discord has an excellent search function and pinned messages making it easy to find things.
For newbs, Discord will take a bit of time to get used to, but with our help, you’ll settle in, in no time.
Continuous Learning
Many members have been working us for years. This means we are in the unique position of being able to take a very broad view of your progress.
Art Club provides continuity in your learning which is more efficient than needing to constantly start over with new instructors.
Artists and their work change over the years! Art Club gives us the chance to contextualize your current artwork with what you were doing a year ago.
Meeting a new instructor every time you take a class can be exhausting. We get to know you so you don’t have to constantly explain yourself!
Socializing
Art Club is also a place to socialize and share your artwork in a casual, low pressure space that is warm and supportive.
Being an artist isn’t just about making the artwork, so much of it is talking about what we are noticing as artists and sharing resources with each other.
Many people share artists, videos, and books that are inspiring them, new art supplies they found, museum photos, updates on what Hugh Jackman posted on Instagram, and more.
Art Supplies
Warning: we are serious art supply enablers! You’ll learn about so many different art supplies you’ve never heard of, and you bet we will all be drooling over them in Art Club.
None of us can buy every art supply out there, and there can be so much confusion between brands.
For example, the Mungyo oil pastels have such confusing labeling: The “Gallery” set is their professional grade, how would you know this if someone didn’t tell you?
In Art Club you can compare notes with other members so you get the right information before purchasing anything.
Sharing your art
So many artists tell me that they feel like they are shouting out into the void when they post their artwork on social media. That won’t happen in Art Club because we make sure that everyone to be seen.
In Art Club, you’ll see people posting their progress at various stage of development. Seeing the rough work, the “ugly phase” of an artwork in the early stages is where the learning really happens.
Social media often feels like a competition, where everyone is knocking out super detailed, 100% polished portfolio pieces.
A lot of members get started by sharing some images of their artwork in the Show and Tell channel.
This channel is a fun place to see what people are making, getting supportive comments, without the pressure of getting a critique.
We understand that for many artists it can be nerve wracking to share your artwork with others, you wouldn’t be an artist if it weren’t!
There is no pressure to share if you don’t want to. Members enjoy seeing the diverse range of work being posted, and can learn a lot by having exposure to so much artwork.
We’ll meet you where you’re at
If you’re a beginner artist, Art Club is a great fit for you!
Often people are intimidated to join, because they worry that their skill level won’t be sufficient and that everyone else will be accomplished.
We will meet you where you’re at, and provide customized advice to help you improve. We are so proud when we can help you create the art you want to make.
Actually, one of the best parts of Art Club is that we have people with so many varying degrees of skills and experience.
You’ll discover in Art Club that ideas are just as important as having hard skills, and that you’ll level up quickly from seeing so many different artists.
“I feel that Prof Lieu genuinely cares about our progress. I don’t think this is the case in most other online art communities.”
Audio Critiques
Art Club critiques are a 2-3 min audio recording by Prof Lieu which are accompanied by a written transcript.
With these formats, you can listen to your critique as many times as you want and refer to the transcript as needed.
You can get a critique in the public areas of our Discord, but we do require people to write 3 substantial critique comments on others’ artworks before posting their own. Prof Lieu does not do critiques here.
Art Club does not have this requirement, and you can get unlimited critiques from Prof Lieu at the GALA tier.
Work in Progress Critiques
Often people assume that the only time that a critique is useful is when an artwork is finished. Actually, getting a critique early in the process can be a lot more efficient.
We can catch fundamental issues before you have spent 10 hours on an artwork barking up the wrong tree. Looking at your early sketches and preliminary work we can get you on the right track.
We encourage members to get several rounds of critiques on the same artwork. Critique is most impactful when we can look at how the artwork progresses and make suggestions at every stage of development.
The format of our critique channels consolidates all of your progress in on a 1 artwork in 1 post.
This is a great way to look back and see your progression and revisit Prof Lieu’s critiques.
Critique Markups
Often audio critiques include markups Prof Lieu adds on top of the artwork to explain more clearly suggestions for what to change.
Many artworks have so many elements, so this visual record is a great reference for the artist to have and refer back to.
This is especially helpful for figure drawing, and marking up anatomical landmarks to pay attention to!
Staff Voice Chats
Voice chats are casual sessions with Prof Lieu, Lauryn, Jordan, and Deepti.
We chat about everything! These sessions are great if you are frustrated an artwork, having a hard time with an art material, need help with figuring out how to sell your artwork, and more.
We critique your art as well, it’s really productive when we can have a conversation about your artwork so you can ask questions in real time.
There is no requirement to speak on voice, many people enjoy listening!
We are happy to critique your art, or answer your questions on voice – you can post your art and type your question into the chat.
Open Studios
Open Studios is a feature of Art Club! Sessions are 2 hours, and occur 3 days per week at set times.
During an Open Studios session, you can work on your projects, post your progress, and get feedback from staff in real time.
This is an opportunity to learn and be inspired by a small group of artists in a safe, inclusive virtual space. You’ll learn as much from seeing each other’s works in progress and ideas as you will from our staff!
Watch a sample session
A lot of people like Open Studios because it’s a time set aside in advance for you to work on your personal projects that holds you accountable.
There is no requirement to speak on voice during an Open Studios session, a lot of people enjoy listening live and hearing us chat about nerdy art topics.
Making art is more fun when we can do it together!
Contact
Questions? Contact us.
